Making Video Interviews Sound Natural

Holly Stuart Hughes has an interesting article over at PDN Online about how photographer David A. Land goes about making sure his video interviews sound natural. He taught himself Final Cut Pro and edits his own footage.

For his assignment for Hand/Eye Magazine, a publication that supports handicraft around the world, and for West Elm, the home decor and furniture company, he used a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and a Canon EOS 7D, fitted with a 50mm f/1.2 lens and a 85mm lens.

Some of his take-aways:

Make the interview sound conversational

Have an assistant sit near the camera mounted on the tripod, so the subject has someone to look at while answering questions

Go over the questions and answers with the subject and coach them on what works